Adjective Clause
Adjective Clause
*grammar terminology
A clause is a structure that has a subject and a verb. There is two kinds of clauses: independent and dependent. - An independent clause is a main clause and can stand alone as a sentence. - A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a sentences; it must be connected to an independent clause. (1) I met a man = an independent clause; it is a complete sentence. (2) He lives in Chicago = a dependent clause; it is NOT a complete sentence. (3) who lives in Chicago = a dependent clause; it is NOT a complete sentence. (4) I met a man who lives in Chicago = an independent clause + a dependent clause; a complete sentence.
s v o The man was friendly. I met him. whom o s v whom I met. (d) The man whom I met was friendly. In : him is an object pronoun. Him refers to the man. To make an adjective clause, change him to whom. Whom is an object pronoun. Whom refers to the man. Whom comes at the beginning of an adjective clause. In (d): An adjective clause immediately follow the noun it modifies. Incorrect: The man was friendly whom I met.
s v o (d) The man was friendly. I me him. o s v whom/that (e) The man who(m) I met was friendly. (f) The man that I met was friendly. (g) The man I met was friendly. In addition to whom(m), *that clause can be used as the object is an adjective clause. (e) and (f) have the same meaning. An object pronoun can be omitted from an adjective clause. (e), (f) and (g) have the same meaning. In (g): The symbol means nothing goes here.
s v o (d) The books were expensive. I bought them. o s v which/that (e) The books which I bought were expensive. (f) The book s that I bought were expensive. (g) The books I bought were expensive. Which or that can be used as an object in adjective clause, as in (e) and (f). An object pronoun can be omitted from an adjective clause, an in (g). (e), (f) and (g) have the same meaning. SINGULAR AND PLURAL VERBS IN ADJECTIVE CLAUSES
(a) I know the man who is sitting over there.
In (a): The verb in the adjective clause (is) is singular because who refers to a singular noun. (b) I know the people who are sitting over there. In (b): The verb in the adjective clause (are) is plural because who refers to plural noun, people.
(f) The chair is hard. I am sitting it. obj. prep (g) The chair which I am sitting in is hard. (h) The chair that I am sitting in is hard. (i) The chair I am sitting in is hard. prep obj. (j) The chair in which I am sitting is hard. (g), (h), (i), and (j) have the same meaning.
prep in
obj.
was stolen.
whose car (b) The man whose car was stolen called the police. Whose* shows possession. In (a): His car can be changed to whose car to make an adjective clause. In (b): whose car was stolen = an adjective clause. I know a girl. Her brother is a movie star. whose brother (d) I know a girl whose brother is a movie star. In : Her brother can be changed to whose brother to make an adjective clause. *Whose and whos have the same pronunciation but NOT the same meaning.
(e) The people were friendly. We bought their house. whose house. (f) The people whose house we bought were friendly. In (e): Their house can be changed to whose house to make an adjective clause.